American Revolution and Constitution

📋 Course Outline

1. British Power and Colonial Tensions
2. Escalation Toward Independence
3. Declaration and Revolutionary War
4. Constitutional Government and Checks

📖 1. British Power and Colonial Tensions

★ Must-know

• The French and Indian War, also called the Seven Years’ War, opposed France and Britain from 1756 to 1763.

• After the Seven Years’ War, France lost all its colonies, including Canada, and Britain became a leading world power.

• The Seven Years’ War doubled British national debt and did not create wealth because additional land and soldiers increased costs rather than money.

Further detail

• Britain tried to make the colonies contribute financially through measures including the 1764 Sugar Acts, which imposed duties on sugar.

💡 Memory Hook

Seven Years’ War debt → British taxation → colonial resistance

📖 2. Escalation Toward Independence

★ Must-know

• The 1765 Stamp Act imposed a tax on printed material in the colonies.

• The Boston Massacre occurred in 1770, when British opposition resulted in the deaths of five Americans.

• Colonists argued that only their elected American representatives had the right to tax them.

Further detail